I'm posting this allergy-free double chocolate brownie in honor of Ashley from Springfield, MO. We connected online when I wasl living there, but alas, we never met. We were both patients of Dr Elaine Carter, and we boned over our love of whole foods.
Ashley sent me a pumpkin chocolate brownie recipe last week and asked if I could modify it to make it gluten-free. The original recipe contained mashed pumpkin and honey. I wasn't really a fan of this combination after my first-round…

This roasted beet dip is one of the most incredible dips I've ever tasted, and is loaded with cleansing nutrients. I first made a version of this recipe when I was volunteering in my mum's school kitchen. My friend Judy had her eight-year-old students hopping into this like it was hamburgers! Suffice it to say, this dip gets raves from beet skeptics.
I've spiced the original recipe up with more garlic, chile, and salt, and added some lemon juice to brighten the flavors. You will need…

At the risk of sounding corny – “there is no place like home!” Paul Young says “wherever I lay my hat that’s my home.” But as much as I love that song, I cannot agree. For me “home is where the heart is," and my heart will always be with my family. I almost found myself on a plane back to Australia at the beginning of the week. I woke from a nightmare in a cold sweat, and in a moment of panicked home-sick nostalgia, AKA “I miss my mummy and daddy," my fingers found themselves furiously…

Having just moved back to L.A, I'm basking in the extraordinary variety of fresh local produce on offer at the various farmer’s markets in town. I'd forgotten how exquisite the fruits and vegetables are here. And, it is so lovely to be back in the loving embrace of my sacred circle of friends out here.
When I lived in L.A while I was a college student at UCLA I scoffed more than my fair share of fresh fruit as I was touring the various markets. I am determined to deliver an encore…

Rob and I were in Ojai, California this week and we were baking! Unfortunately not the put-a-pie-in-the-oven kind of baking, rather the it’s-too-hot-for-humans kind where you're sweating in embarrassing places you didn’t know could weep for themselves.
OK, so perhaps I'm overstating the heat just a tad, and I shouldn’t be complaining after escaping the slap-you-in-the-face oppressive heat of Arizona. But when you've been standing under the hot sun in a field knee-deep in bushes for two…

My litmus test for any of my raw recipes is to feed them to my friend Joann, who proudly professes “I don’t eat healthy!” If she sticks her fork in my recipes without any complaining, and returns for more, I know I have a winner. I am staying with her in Arizona this week, and brought some of my kale chips as a snack. When I woke up the first morning to find half the bag empty, and a note that read “I need this recipe!!!!!” I thought it was worthy of a post! She did insist I attach a…

My dad always tells me that happiness is tied up in expectations. If you keep your expectations in a realistic place, you're less likely to be disappointed. I've found this advice to be true in all aspects of life; and I offer it up today when making this cashew cheese.
Don’t get me wrong, this spread is absolutely scrumptious. But if you turn on your food processor expecting this to taste exactly like cheese made from cow’s milk, you may be a little disappointed. Conversely, if you…

This easy raw gazpacho is like liquid guacamole. This blend kicked me into a pleasure-induced coma and had me ready to coat-check my teeth. I'm now dreaming up a recipe for a taco in a glass. Hmmm...
Tweak the onion, lime juice, chile, and salt to taste. I serve this soup as a main meal with lots of veggie toppings. This way, it serves about 4 people. But, this blend is also sensational served in shot glasses for parties. A splash of tabasco is magic, too.
Just use avocados that are…

I read a wonderful article by Janet Mendel in the LA Times celebrating gazpacho in all its incantations. It was a scorching afternoon and the title phrase, “This Spanish soup is adaptable as it is refreshing on a hot summer’s day” had me lunging for my blender to create a gazpacho of my own.
In the article, Janet gives a fabulous brief history of gazpacho. It is thought that this traditional Spanish soup may have had its traditions in Roman and Moorish/Arabic cultures where a simple…

I'm posting another delectable chocolate treat that promises to kick even the most sober cream dreamer and chocoholic back into denial. Today we move onto step three in our twelve step program – “pairing hazelnuts with chocolate in Nutella requires us to make amends with our colons. But if we make vegan hazelnut cacao ice cream with natural sweeteners we can indulge without any letters of apology.”
I was watching the morning news and a commercial came on advertising Nutella spread as a…

I found a lonely little bag of green peas in my freezer the other night begging for a nutty match. As I lay my hands on those naked little beads my taste buds immediately starting salivating in the midst of a culinary wet dream spurred on by vivid sense memory of a delectable green pea dip I made with Kurma Dasa on a balmy night in Melbourne many years ago.
The second that dip hit my lips, it was love at first bite! Whenever I'm looking for a show-stopping dip I always turn to Kurma’s…